Marketisation of Islam and politics of development in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This article problematises the marketisation of Islam in Bangladesh and the relationship between neo-liberal economic policies and the resurgence of a certain kind of Islamic religiosity in the country. Based on the findings of three field studies that employed a multi-method approach, the article analyses the macro-cultural impacts of development as well as highlights the embedded, nuanced, and complex set of economic and political relationships that appear to fuel social inequality and engender inequitable distribution and growth. Empirical findings identify the implementation of development policies based on client-patron relations as the main problematic precursor. The findings suggest such relations facilitate an ongoing marginalisation of minority groups, in which ‘othering’ among the equals emerge as a cemented outcome. The findings further suggest the outcomes move across social groups and are in transit and under negotiation, becoming braided with adverse impact on Bangla language, Bengali cultures, the country’s advanced education sector, and the overall ability for Bangladeshis to think critically and produce and sustain social relations. Evidence also indicates Bengali cultures appear to become increasingly embedded in a number of rituals in the name of Islamic principles and philosophy. The article refers to this phenomenon as the ‘great’ transformation of contemporary Bangladesh.